With barely any sleep, we got up really early in the morning and JW and I started our adventure to Lantau Island. We were really tired but also really excited at the same time. This would be our first legit Wednesday series exploration. We transferred trains 3 times and finally made it to Tung Chung. There we headed to the cable car station.
We bought the sky-land-water package. So basically we got to go up the mountain on a glass floored cable car. The package also included a bus ride to Tai-O Fishing Village and a boat ride there.
It was actually kind of scary going up because it was really foggy. This would later turn out to be a good thing because the sun seems so much hotter in Hong Kong. We were so excited looking down though. The landscape view was gorgeous and there were two baby toddlers sitting with us in the same cable car.
Mehehe, first picture of us in the cable car. I'm not scared of heights but I avoided looking down at the water for too long because my head started getting a bit dizzy.
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This is going to be a long post so click over there to read more >>>
When we arrived at the top of the mountain, we found a cute little tourist village called Ngong Ping. It felt traditional chinese but it was definitely westernized. The music and stores were geared towards tourists. They purposely created an "oriental" feel. I don't like using this word because of the many inherent stereotypes but in this case, it seems fitting. There was even a starbucks in here, not that it's that surprising.
This was actually kind of cute. It's in the middle of the village and there's a wooden shrine thing under the tree where you can hang wishing charms. This tree isn't real but traditionally, people can throw their wishes tied to oranges over the branches of willow trees.
The big Buddha is in view!! The walk through the town was short and we're now headed to the square that marks the intersection between the temple and the steps to the big Buddha. But first a picture ^^
We're now headed through the gates towards the big Buddha.
So as soon as we make the turn towards the Buddha, we see this cast iron pot. It's really big and majestic. This is a good start to our climb up the mountain.
The Buddha is in view and the climb doesn't seem that bad.
We took a short break half way up to look down. The view is breath-taking. That red roofed building in the distance is the temple we're going to be visiting next.
We finally made it to the top. The statue looks really serene. It's amazing that they were able to create such a big piece of work and bring it to the top of the mountain. The big Buddha is flanked on its sides by sets of statues. They come in sets of 3 and appear to be lesser gods holding up offerings to Buddha.
This is the view from the back side of the Buddha looking out into the mountain passes. Here you really get a feeling of how small and insignificant you are compared to the rest of the world. Headed back down the mountain now. We go back to the square and make a right this time to the Po Lin temple.
There's a lot of incense. The smell literally permeates the air every step in side the temple complex. Tourists and local worshipers gather here together. There is a sense of respect for the culture and this controlled bustling of noises as people went about with their business.
We followed a bunch of dogs and arrived at this side street under construction. There is this beautiful building along the street.
The building looks like it's peaking out from behind the trees. It adds to the ambiance of the place.
We take a left on the street and arrive at the main Po Lin temple complex. There was a vegetarian place to the left of the lion (the yellow sign). We went over to check it out but we didn't get anything. When I came back, my friends told me that that place was really good. So I'm definitely going to visit it when I return next time.
It is guarded by 2 lions on the side. That's me trying to steal the lion's orb.
Inside the temple, there are many statues of gods. Placed in front of them, are plates of fruits, and other offerings as well as more incense.
After we finished touring the temple, we headed over to the bus station to catch the bus to Tai-O. We were really lucky because we made it just in time for the bus. We didn't have a seat though so we were forced to stand for the 15 minute ride there.
After we finished touring the temple, we headed over to the bus station to catch the bus to Tai-O. We were really lucky because we made it just in time for the bus. We didn't have a seat though so we were forced to stand for the 15 minute ride there.
As we walked out of the bus lot, we came into the main street of the fishing village. The stores on the left and right of us were selling dried sea food. There was basically as many dried fish parts as you can possibly imagine. The air was salty and cats and dogs roam the streets freely here.
Those are some items we saw as we walked down the street. We made a quick left on the street to find the boats for our boat tour.
There aren't big boats but they sure can go fast. It was so thrilling when the boat driver geared up the engine and sped off towards the sea.
Along the waterway, houses are constructed on stilts and lie above sea level. Most of the houses here are really old. Some are even broken down and abandoned. The fog made it feel kinda of eerie.
We moved past the houses and head out towards the ocean. The waves were really big, so I was starting to feel a bit nauseous but I was excited because we were going to see dolphins.
There were so many of them. These dolphins were unique in that they were pink. Like their skin is actually pink. It was so cool. They looked so unreal that JW first thought they were toys in the water. It took me a while before I could even capture the dorsal fin of one of these fast moving dolphins.
We finished our boat tour and decided to explore the village. We went through the side streets and alleyways, keeping an eye out for the details.
This is the main street an it's actually not that wide. Pedestrians and bikers alike go up and down this street together. You know when to step aside when you hear the ringing of bike bells.
We cut into one of the back alleys and found a residential community. I really loved this particular spot. It felt so serene with the vines trailing up the terrace. The bikes were also in different pastel colors. It was a really beautiful moment that I wanted to capture.
Outside the houses, people were drying seafood on tarps. One of the more unique ones are these drying starfishes.
As we headed around the residential area, we found a local altar in the midst of trees. These statues are of Guanyin, a Chinese goddess. I am a Christian but my family is traditional Chinese so they believe in the Chinese hierarchy of Gods. My parents tell me that my protecting goddess is Guanyin. Even though I don't believe it, I payed my respects here out of this memory from my past and heritage.
There's another shrine right next to the altar where people worshiped more gods.
So we're headed back to the village now. The sun is out now and it's so insanely hot. We decided to just drop by some AC filled store and buy some drinks while we cooled off.
We walked into the first restaurant we saw with AC. I got a coke just because it was my first time drinking out of a glass bottle. It felt a special even though it was just coke ater all haha.
So here we ordered the condensed milk toast with peanut butter. We also ordered a ramen with chicken wings. It was typical HK food so nothing really special here.
We heard that the seafood here was amazing but as we walked around the village, we just could not find any seafood restaurants. Turns out we were looking in the wrong place. We were actually supposed to cross that land bridge on the right there into another village for seafood. We were short on time though so we decided to go another time. We headed back to the closeby village to get some street food.
Right at the mouth of the village, there was a small street vendor selling fishballs. These were slightly different though because they were hunourmous. I have never seen fishballs this big and they were really bouncy in texture. I chose the spicy because the owner suggested it but it was too spicy for me. My tongue and mouth was burning after I finished it.
Another thing I tried was bbq-ed dried squid. They come in 3 sizes small, medium and big. We just got two small ones. Mine was without spice, and JW had the one with spice.
Here's the guy grilling our squid over a small charcoal stove.
Grilling the squid. Watching the process was fun.
Here's my grilled squid cooked and cut into pieces. I noticed street food always come in yellow paper bags like this. It was my first time trying charcoal grilled squid. It was a good experience but I didn't really like the taste. It was so hard to chew and the taste was just dried fishiness. Trying this once is enough for me.
We were really tired at this point, so we headed back to the bus to ngoh ping to catch our bus. Again, we were insanely lucky. As soon as we got on the bus, it started to move and we were off back to the village.
We were really tired at this point, so we headed back to the bus to ngoh ping to catch our bus. Again, we were insanely lucky. As soon as we got on the bus, it started to move and we were off back to the village.
We arrived earlier than we thought so we took a slight detour and tried out this small outdoor food place that sold homemade snacks. There were fishballs, chicken wings and other snacks but what I was interested in was this.
This is soy milk and Dao Fu Fa. The amazing this is that both of these are made locally and with mountain spring water. It was so refreshing. Dao Fu Fa is basically soft silky tofu eaten with ginger syrup. It's not heavy at all though. The taste is light and cool. It was the best way to end our trip to Tai-O.
Tired and exhausted we went to buy some souvenirs in Ngoh Ping town. As expected of a tourist town, everything was so expensive. I only bought one thing here because I'm not really much of a souvenir person. I saw something and thought of Brian and that was the only reason I bought it. Not going to say what it is here because I'm going to send it out tomorrow hehehe =3
It was an awesome day. We saw so much, did so much and ate so much. More than that though, we learned and experienced so much. As we got onto that cable car to go down the mountain, we were happy and content for everything that happened that day. Looking out over mountain and sea, we were greeted with this sight of a setting sun over Lantau Island.
It was an awesome day. We saw so much, did so much and ate so much. More than that though, we learned and experienced so much. As we got onto that cable car to go down the mountain, we were happy and content for everything that happened that day. Looking out over mountain and sea, we were greeted with this sight of a setting sun over Lantau Island.